The impact of moving the Maui Invitational out of Hawaii for the first time in 37 years to Asheville, N.C., due to COVID-19 concerns will be felt far beyond a vacant Lahaina Civic Center court Thanksgiving week.
The nationally televised, eight-team event has been college basketball’s preeminent holiday tournament as well as the Valley Isle’s largest revenue producing event and host Chaminade University’s biggest non-institutional funding source.
Chicago-based KemperLesnik, the owner and operator of the event, announced the change in venues Friday, saying on the tournament website, “We’re taking Maui to the mainland!”
The tournament, which is still expected to include Alabama, Davidson, Indiana, North Carolina, Providence, Stanford, Texas and Nevada-Las Vegas, will be held at the 7,654-seat Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville, and “operated under the guidance of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services for mass gatherings” for 2020, the statement said.
The new dates have yet to be announced but are expected to be Nov. 30-Dec. 2.
The Maui Invitational, which originated in Kona in 1984 before moving to Wailuku in 1985, has been held in Lahaina since 1987. Last year’s event brought 7,096 visitors to Maui and produced $12.71 million in direct visitor expenditures, according to Sherry Doung, executive director of the Maui Visitors Bureau.
“The impact on Maui is that while our community will not be benefiting from the direct expenditures of the visitors and fans, our Maui brand will still benefit from solid media exposure during the broadcast of this year’s tournament,” Duong said.
She declined to say how much longer beyond 2020 the contract with KemperLesnik and Maui runs.
The 2018 championship game alone, matching Gonzaga and Duke, attracted 2.3 million viewers on ESPN.
Duong added, “They (organizers and sponsors) showed great respect in recognizing how this change in venue will help protect the health and safety of our Maui community.”
Maui Mayor Michael Victorino expressed confidence the hiatus from the Valley Isle will last only a year.
“I’m grateful to Tom Valdiserri and Maui Jim Maui Invitational staff for informing me of their decision Thursday and for making it clear this move is temporary, only for 2020,” Victorino said in a statement. “I appreciate that they have pledged to keep the Spirit of Maui alive in Asheville, North Carolina, and remind fans everywhere that this tournament’s true home is on Maui. We will miss the tournament, players, coaches and fans this year and welcome them back with open arms next year.”
Chaminade athletic director Tom Buning said, “We’ll miss out on our role of being a welcoming host to the schools that participate and participating in the various clinics,” but said it was too early to estimate the financial impact.
“The finances may be changed and they may be covered by some force majeure (contract) language, but that is to be determined by others,” Buning said. “But there will be some financial differences because of a different financial environment.”
Chaminade, which appears in the tournament bracket on a biennial rotation, had been scheduled to play games at Stanford and UNLV in early November, but due to NCAA and conference restrictions, will have to see if they can be rescheduled.
Alabama coach Nate Oats said, “I’ve heard (Asheville, N.C.) is a good place. It’s not Maui, though. It is a little disappointing that we’re in the Maui (field) the one year that Maui is not played in Maui. I hope we can get back in it here soon.”
Meanwhile, Demp Bradford of the Asheville/Buncombe Regional Sports Commission told the Asheville Daily Citizen, “It’s a huge opportunity for our community, and we expect exciting basketball.”
Bradford estimated the event, even without fans in the stands, will generate more than $1.1 million in economic impact for the area.
Buning said, “We’re thrilled that competition will happen because it continues the legacy of the event.”
The concept of the tournament was inspired by Chaminade’s stunning 1982 upset of No. 1-ranked Virginia and All-America center Ralph Sampson. Cavaliers coach Terry Holland later suggested to Silverswords athletic director Mike Vasconcellos that the small Division III school atop Kalaepohaku start its own holiday tournament.
Two years later, Chaminade launched the tournament in Kona and has gone on to upset wins over Stanford, Villanova, Oklahoma, Texas and others in the intervening years.
7,096
Visitors who came to Maui last year to attend the event at the Lahaina Civic Center
$12.71M
In direct visitor expenditures that the invitational generated last year, the county’s biggest money-making event
5
Maui Invitational tournament teams that went on to win the NCAA title that season (Michigan in 1988, North Carolina in 2004, 2008, 2016 and UConn in 2010)
2
Players who played in the Maui Invitational who became NBA MVPs — Steve Nash and Russell Westbrook
